The Dome Peak Roadless Area in
the White River National Forest is
no longer protected by the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. TWS archives

The Roadless Area Conservation Rule
Coloradans recognize the diverse values of roadless areas, and cherish public lands free from roads. More than 36,000 of them commented on the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (with more than 90% in favor), which set up standards for protecting the wilder portions of the state's National Forests. The 2001 Rule provided protections from logging, mining, and energy development on more than 4.4 million acres of the last remaining unroaded lands in our state?s National Forests. Similar numbers of Colorado citizens expressed support for roadless areas again during the current administration's more recent attempts to weaken that rule. Click here for more...

The Colorado Roadless Petition
In 2007, Governor Ritter presented a petition to the Forest Service requesting protection for roadless areas in Colorado as an "insurance policy" in case the regulation that had been protecting them is permanently repealed. The petition is based on recommendation made by a Task Force convened by the former Governor and the state legislature to determine the fate of Colorado's remaining roadless areas after the regulation that had been protecting them was temporarily repealed. In the meantime, nationwide roadless protection was reinstated but this could be overridden by the weakened protections in the Colorado petition. Click here for more...